"Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ" (Ga 6:1–2).
Of course this is something we as a body of believers are called to do. When a fellow Christian is "caught" (a passive verb which seems to mean that the believer was not setting out to be ensnared in this sin) in a particular trespass, the Christians who are bearing the fruit of the Spirit, I believe this is what Paul was referring to when he said "you who are Spiritual," are to gently and lovingly approach that struggling Christian and help restore them. They are to come up under him or her and help bear that burden. From the tone of the passage, I get the idea that this individual that is caught in "transgression" is grieved by the sin. It has brought dishonor to Christ, the body and is obviously harmful to the individual . Though they were not looking to become ensnared, nevertheless, it is still a sin and has become a "burden" to them. So it seems that this person is grieved by this "trespass" and needs help. Perhaps this is why Paul mentions doing it in a "spirit of gentleness." There is a time to be stern and harsh and a time for gentleness (you see both in Paul). And this is a clear case for the gentle approach. The last thing this struggling believer needs is a fire breathing, law wielding person thumping over the head with biblical passages pointing out their sin. They may be aware and grieved by it and need to know how to deal with it and get out of it. This is why local church fellowship is so important! This restoration, which is the goal, of the believer can only be done by the power of the Spirit and help of fellow saints.
I believe this to be the proper understanding and application of the text. I fear, however, that many misapply it. What tends to happen is a person claiming to be a Christian and is living in open unrepentant sin, of which they are neither grieved by, nor were "overtaken" but rather went seeking it out: homosexuality, adultery, fornication, pornography, e.t.c., these people are coddled and catered to by believers. These people don't give a rip about glorifying Christ with their lives! They want to be assured that they are "going to heaven" while they continue in their blatant sin filled life. These are the ones that if confronted quickly toss out "judge not lest you be judged." But these individuals do not need Gal. 6:1-2, they need to be evangelized as unbelievers! Sadly, many Christians do not recognize the distinction between a brother "overtaken" by a transgress and those claiming to be believers but lack the genuine fruit.
We are given Biblical steps to help us with this confusion. Matthew 18:15-17 is a good starting point. Even though the context is personal sins committed by person to another, I still think we can draw out some important principles: "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector" (Mt 18:15–17). Here the confrontation, as well as the response, is what is important. A genuine believer should repent at the their offense on the personal encounter. Yet two other steps are given to reinforce this idea. If the offender fails to repent at the face to face level, then one or two witnesses are to be brought for the next approach and finally if the offender fails to respond to that, then the matter is to be bought before the church. Failing to listen to the church means drastic measures are called for. If this person wants to act like an unbeliever then he should be treated like one. This is a far cry from coddling them and trying to "love them" back to the faith. Yet the loving thing to do is to follow what Christ commanded in Matthew 18:15-17! If the excommunicated person is indeed a Christian, then they will crave the fellowship of the saints in Christ and repent of their sinful ways and return to the church. This idea we will further explore, shortly.
I would like to point to the case of king David. We all remember his adulterous affair with Bathsheba and his murder of her husband Uriah. When the Lord sent Nathan to confront David of his gross and evil sins. He didn't respond by killing the messenger, which he had the power and authority to do as king, but by repenting: "Why have you despised the word of the LORD, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’Thus says the LORD, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun.For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.’ ” David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” And Nathan said to David, “The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die.Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the LORD, the child who is born to you shall die.” Then Nathan went to his house "(2 Sa 12:8–15). This grieving over sin and repentance produced one of the most beautiful Psalms from David.- Psalm 51. God's people grieve and repent when falling in sin because we crave fellowship with God and his people.
The purpose of excommunication is to protect the church from contamination and to restore the fallen believer. When they persist in blatant sin they must be put outside the local body. Paul put it this way: "I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you" (1 Co 5:9–13). Should this happen to a true believer they will most certainly crave the fellowship of other saints in their congregation. It is a product of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. They will rid themselves, by the power of the Spirit of God, of their blatant sin. They will grieve and sorrow over it and seek restoration. Once this takes place the body should lovingly and thankfully receive the restored believer: "For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him.For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything. Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs"(2 Co 2:6–11). This my friends is how church discipline operates from both sides!
Bearing the burdens of fellow believers is to be done with those that are "overtaken" by a trespass. It should not be applied to to those professing Christ but care less about their sin. We long to come alongside our fellow believers to gently restore them. We are not called to convince unbelievers that they are believers by giving them words of encouragement as they blatantly sin. Once approached the response of the offender will lead us to which is the appropriate action. The one that is grieving over their burden is to be handled with a Gal. 6:1-2 approach, while the one who refuses to listen and is indifferent to their sin, should be treated as an unbeliever. Soli Deo Gloria!
For His Glory,
Fernando
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